The greatest fashion designer of the 20th century, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, died suddenly in her suite at the swish Hotel Ritz in Paris half a century ago this week. The woman whose designs still shape what we wear today, died at 9:00 pm on January 10, 1971. Despite it being a Sunday, the 87-year-old was working on a new collection, which was shown two weeks after her death.

The greatest fashion designer of the 20th century, Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel, died suddenly in her suite at the swish Hotel Ritz in Paris half a century ago this week. The woman whose designs still shape what we wear today, died at 9:00 pm on January 10, 1971. Despite it being a Sunday, the 87-year-old was working on a new collection, which was shown two weeks after her death.